Coronavirus nips flower trade
Not too long ago, the villages along the banks of Brahmaputra were filled with the fragrance and colours of blooming flowers. The people of these villages, young and old, were all involved in the flower trade. People would come from all over to enjoy the sheer scenic beauty of these places. But that now all seems so long ago.
Like in all other places, the coronavirus outbreak has hit the flower villages of Bandar upazila in Narayanganj hard too. With the holiday declared by the government, and all sorts of social gatherings and events coming to a halt, there is no demand for flowers. Thousands and thousands of the flowers are blooming, dying and falling to the ground.
The flower traders are at a loss. And around 500 families of 12 villages of Bandar upazila in Narayanganj have found themselves unemployed. As the flowers fade, the lives of the people seem to be losing colour too. A visit to these villages on Thursday found the cultivators and other involved in the trade despondent and anxious.
Most of the flower traders are from the village Dighaldi of Kalagachia union in the upazila. From the railway line to the village, there are all sorts of flowers growing in abundance – kath malati, rakta joba, kath golap and more. Flowers, unpicked, are strewn all over. This season’s flowers had been growing on around 100 bighas of land.
The fields are filled with drooping and fading gladioli, cherry blossoms, marigolds, dahlias, chrysanthemums, Chinese marigold, calendula and more.
An elderly man of the village, Harimati, said they were now eating two meals a day instead of three because there was no work. They were preparing themselves mentally for one meal a day if the situation worsens further.
Md Suman was standing by a stretch of water there. He said he had taken a Tk 400,000 loan and planted flowers on 13 bighas of land this season. He had expected to see at least Tk 700,000 worth of flowers, but with the outbreak of coronavirus, this will not happen. He sold only Tk 100,000 worth of flowers before the crisis. Flower sales had stopped since 26 March and now the flowers were dying in the fields.
Another flower grower Shafiqul said that most of the cultivators took loans from Krishi Bank and NGOs for this business. They are now faced with mounting financial losses.
An elderly man of the village, Harimati, said they were now eating two meals a day instead of three because there was no work. They were preparing themselves mentally for one meal a day if the situation worsens further.